KIRKUS REVIEW

A fun guide to the building blocks of the English
language.

Reading is undeniably the cornerstone of education,
but there’s much controversy over what the most effective methods are to teach
this crucial skill. Prince (The Alpha
Rap: Read In Kids, 2011) makes a solid case for the importance of “systematic
phonics instruction”—urging new readers to sound out unfamiliar words—as part
of the educational process. She begins with a literature review, summarizing
studies that support her assertions, but readers who are uninterested in
theories of learning or already convinced of the method’s benefits can easily
skip right to the materials themselves: charts, exercises, and activity sheets
that feature attractive visuals with bright colors and cute images that
illustrate such words as “pear” and “thimble.” The author successfully
demonstrates ways to make the process of acquiring language skills more dynamic
and interactive. Her active learning tools include word searches, bingo cards,
rhyming exercises, and word scrambles. However, the word wheels in the fourth
chapter are the book’s real standout feature. An arrow labeled with a consonant
blend (“cl,” for example) lies in the center of a circle with 16 word endings
set around it (such as “oud,” “ean,” “aim,” or “ing”). As students or teachers
move the arrow, new words may be formed, pronounced, visualized, sketched, or
acted out—the possibilities are endless: “The Word Wheel is a blueprint
instrument to apply the sound blending process which is a main component of the
decoding process to generate thousands of new words,” Prince explains. The book
contains word wheels for 25 different consonant blends, and one can easily
imagine the delight of students experiencing the pleasures of language
production as they also acquire the tools necessary for further progress.
Clearly, elementary school teachers will welcome this resource, but it also seems
like it would be useful for students of any age who are learning English as a
second or third language—especially those who are less familiar with the workings
of the English alphabet.

A valuable set of educational materials for teachers,
parents, and children alike.

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